


Mixed Signals

by Angylsmuse, Orithain



Series: Fourth Pass [20]
Category: Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
Genre: Alternate Fourth Pass, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, First Time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-15
Packaged: 2018-09-17 16:58:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9334319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angylsmuse/pseuds/Angylsmuse, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orithain/pseuds/Orithain
Summary: A young woodcrafter decides that it's time "to become a woman."





	

**Author's Note:**

> Underage sex for Earth but not for Pern. Winell is an adult by Pern standards (people in agrarian, pre- or post-industrial societies tend to mature a lot faster), and she is most definitely not coerced -- Just ask Taelsin!  
> Originally posted July 2001.

Brushing white blond bangs out of her face, Winell looked up, faintly curious to see who had drawn her father out of his workshop, and she almost dropped the wood she was handling when she saw him. He wore the badge of an armscrafter, which explained the beautifully toned, lean body, and he was gorgeous with his dark brown, sun-streaked hair and beautiful brown eyes.

“Wel!” she hissed at her twin, who was working beside her. “Him,” nodding toward the armscrafter, “that’s the one I want for my first.”

“He looks a bit old for you, Win,” her brother replied, though not without an appreciative look at the stranger. “Better not tell him your real age if you want to have a chance. Good thing we look older than we are.”

The twins shared a grin, identical ice-blue eyes sparkling mischievously, before returning their attention to the man with their father.

Taelsin thanked the woodcrafter for his time, looking forward to his purchase and the chance to visit with his baby sister, Saskia, who was now happily married to Samis _and_ mated to a bluerider.Only Sassy wouldn’t be satisfied with just one, he chuckled to himself.

A chirp from Kadin, his bronze flit, had Tael turning to catch two much too similar apprentices, male and female, looking at him.“Twins, right?” he asked casually as he walked by.“And cute ones too!” With a wicked grin and a quick salute he headed towards the cothold Saskia, Samis and L’vance now called home.

“He’s leaving!” Win groaned in frustration. “I don’t even know who he is.”

“His name is Taelsin, and he’s Saskia’s brother,” Kallie said quietly from behind them, having noticed her baby sister’s interest. “He’s going to visit them now.”

Winell smiled happily and concentrated on finishing her chore so she’d be able to waylay the armscrafter when he left after visiting his sister. _Oh please, let this work,_ she thought, _He’s perfect! And he thought I was cute. I can work with cute._

~*~*~

“Pregnant.Shells, she’s making me an uncle, and those two buffoons want to keep her that way!” Taelsin groaned, shaking his head as he finally left his sister, pale green and heaving.“Just better not want me to babysit is all, I’m much too busy scaring off the drudges who want a peek at the Daemon and Lucivon show.”

Walking towards the paddock where he’d let Faris run free, Tael noticed that a certain young woodcrafter was paying more attention to him than to her craft.“Gonna hack off a finger or something if you’re not careful, and that would be a crying shame!”

Winell grinned up at him, laying aside the wood she’d been carving while she waited. “I wouldn’t dare. Dad would die of mortification if I ever did such a thing. Hi, I’m Winell,” she introduced herself.

She could hardly keep from staring at him. He was even more attractive close up. But how was she going to interest him? She might be inexperienced, but she was pretty sure that tearing off her clothes and yelling, “Fly me!” would not get her what she wanted.

“Corporal-at-arms Taelsin at your service, m’lady,” he grinned, bowing low over her hand and placing a soft kiss on its back.“And would that be the Winell who was barely knee-high to a flit at my sister’s wedding to Samis?”

Her face fell. “You, uh, you remember me? Shards!” So much for the man of her dreams. He wasn’t going to be interested in someone so much younger if he _knew_ how old she was. Wel had been right about that.

“How could I forget the most adorable woman there, next to Sassy that is,” Tael said with a wink. “You’ve grown up nice, Winell, quite the little lady,” Tael flirted, knowing he really shouldn’t be doing so, but she was so sharding _cute_.

The young woodcrafter glared. “Not so little, corporal-at-arms,” she replied coolly. She drew herself up to her full height, which was about the middle of his chest. “You don’t have to be patronizing,” she said, a hint of her disappointment audible in her voice before she turned around, intending to leave while she still had some shred of her dignity left.

“I wasn’t being patronizing, Win,” he said softly.“I just think you shouldn’t be playing the kind of games you seem to want to play with a man old enough to be your father.I’m too old for you, sweetheart, and too beat up.You deserve someone younger, gentler, your age,” Taelsin replied quietly, placing a restraining hand on her arm.

“And for the record, if you were a couple of Turns older, Sam would have to sit on me to keep me away from you.”

Win shrugged his hand off angrily. “Don’t _I_ get any say in what’s best for me? Oh, silly me, of course not, I’m too young. Don’t worry, I won’t bother you again.” Her eyes fell on a dragonrider Kallie used to spend time with, and a determined expression crossed her face. “In fact, I think I see the solution to my problem.” She started away.

“Now just a sharding minute, young lady!” Tael replied, getting more than a little miffed at Winell’s attitude.“Hey, Sam,” he bellowed. “I’m borrowing her!”

That said, he picked up the tiny termagant and tossed her over his shoulder, heading for the paddock and Faris.“And I’d hold my temper if I were you; Faris doesn’t like most people, so he’ll nip if you piss him off.Now settle down!” he exclaimed, bringing a hand down on the squirming posterior.“You’ll only hurt yourself.”

“Let go of me, you bully!” Win beat his back with her fists, completely indifferent to what the runner might do. “Put me down, shard it! Just because you don’t want me doesn’t give you the right to interfere with anything I choose to do!” Totally frustrated by the way he was ignoring her struggles to be free, she bit his shoulder blade.

Growling, Taelsin bounced her hard enough to knock the wind out of her, even as his hand connected even harder on her ass.“I _said_ behave, and if you’re smart, you’ll listen.I don’t take insubordination well!”

Not even pausing or breaking a sweat, Taelsin hefted himself and his cargo onto the black stallion’s back and knee signaled him to leave, Faris leaping over the fence to do so.A short time later they were well away from the hold and in a secluded grove in the woods, away from prying eyes.

Setting Winell down, Tael leaped off the runner to glare down at the brat.“Now start from the beginning, Apprentice Winell, and this time don’t leave my head spinning with half stories and subterfuges!”

Win sat down, crossed her arms over her chest and stared straight ahead in mutinous silence.

“Very well, minx,” Tael replied calmly.Hauling the young woman to her feet, he dragged her kicking and screaming over to a log where he pulled her down across his lap.“Now are you going to behave, or am I going to warm this sweet, little ass of yours?”

“Go stuff yourself!” She bit him again, on the upper thigh this time. “Let. Me. Go! I made a mistake, okay! I won’t bother you again!”

“Go stuff myself, not a very ladylike thing to say to a man, especially one you seemed so bent on seducing,” he replied conversationally, ignoring the bite save for a grimace of pain, even as he brought his hand down hard on her posterior.

“I wouldn’t seduce you if you were the last man on Pern! OWWWWW!” Win squirmed frantically, trying to get away. “That hurts, you brute! Let GO!!!”

“That’s the whole idea, Minx. Now spill it, or I guarantee you won’t be able to sit down for a sevenday.And out here no one can hear you scream.Besides, Kadin is keeping watch.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” Win grumbled sulkily, sniffling.

“Let’s start with why and work from there, okay?” the armscrafter replied quietly, bringing her to a sitting position in his lap, cradling her against him.“Why me, Win, when you could have anybody you wanted?”

“Because I _thought_ you were nice... and nobody else ever made me feel that way before,” she admitted quietly, staring down at her hands twisting in her lap. Now that he was holding her, not spanking her any more, she could feel that same fluttering in her belly. She licked her lips nervously, not sure what to say or do.

“Nice?” Tael chuckled softly, “Darlin’, I’m as far from a nice man as you can get.At least the way you want me to be.I’m a very _bad_ man, sweetheart,” he continued, his hand automatically stroking her back without him consciously being aware of it.

Win smiled slightly, brushing away the few tears with the backs of her hands. “Maybe that’s what I want, you ever think of that?” she asked softly, a wicked smile sparkling in her eyes. “Come on, think about it. Who are my brothers and sisters? There’s a reason so many of ‘em ended up mated to the Blood you know. The Aethyrs are the only ones who can keep up with us,” she added challengingly.

Tael shook his head and clucked his tongue despairingly.“The Blood aren’t the only ones; my sister seems to do a damn good job of keeping her men in line.You might say that my family’s pretty damn good at keeping yours under control as well, even if Sam is only a foster.”

Sliding a finger under Winell’s chin, Tael studied her face carefully.“If you wanna play with fire, little minx, be very sure.You’re much too pretty to be burned.”

Deciding that it was now or never, Win slid her arms around Taelsin’s neck and kissed him. _That_ was something she had plenty of experience with, and she knew she was good at it. Shards, he tasted good! Almost purring with pleasure, she twisted in his lap to press closer, her mouth opening more as she tried to absorb more of his flavor.

Tael’s mouth opened automatically, taking control of the kiss, which was hot enough to scorch.Damn, the girl, no, woman, might be young but...

Hands moving down Win’s back to the soft curve of ass, he pressed her closer, his body reacting instinctively to a soft and willing woman against him.She tasted like cream and strawberries.Ripe, red, succulently juicy strawberries.The kind that left you wanting more.And he did, heavens help him, he wanted to devour her.

Win moaned into the kiss, loving it and wanting more. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, the aching nipples rubbing against him, and her legs parted as she tried to get closer, moving outside his so she could rub against him.

Taelsin’s hands moved upwards again this time tugging Win’s shirt loose and sliding underneath to caress hot, bare skin.Wrenching his mouth away to gasp for air, he looked down at Winell’s hot, sweet face and groaned.

“Be sure about this, Win.‘Cause I won’t stop once I start.”

“So start already!” She squirmed again, rubbing her aching center against his erection, wanting to feel him inside her.

“Pushy little thing, aren’t you?” Taelsin groaned in a half-laugh, picking her up and carrying her over to a patch of sun-warmed grass where he lay her down and covered her with his own body.

“Little one,” he murmured softly, rubbing against her body gently, “tell me the truth, have you ever done anything like this before?”

She chewed her lip nervously as she stared up at him, arms still twined around his neck and her knees pressing against his hips. She didn’t want to answer, afraid he’d stop if she did. “Can’t we talk later?” she moaned, trying to avoid the issue.

“Sounds like a no to me,” Taelsin replied with a grin.“Don’t worry, little one, I’ll take good care of you, I promise,” he continued as he began to nibble his way first down then up her neck, nuzzling her ear.

“Ohhhh,” she moaned, her back arching as she bared her throat to him. “Don’t stop!” Her hands finally moved from his neck to begin to explore his body, stroking and learning him.

“Don’t worry, little minx, I won’t,” Tael purred as his fingers released the buttons on her shirt, exposing her breasts.“Perfect,” he breathed, “a perfect mouthful.”

Bending his head, Tael began to lave one breast, following up his words with a demonstration.

Win whimpered, her back arching involuntarily to push into his mouth. Despite the pleasure, she managed to gasp, “Tell me what to do? I want to make you feel good too. Oh jays!” She clawed at his shirt, wanting to feel his bare skin.

“Shhh, easy, minx, you’ll get your chance soon enough,” Taelsin chuckled, as he leaned back to strip off his vest and shirt, revealing a well-defined chest and a rippled abdomen.

Taking the other breast in his mouth, Taelsin’s hands moved to a slender waist and along the fastenings of Winell’s pants, undoing them and sliding them down narrow hips.Kissing his way down her middle, he dipped his tongue in her navel, smiling at her giggle, then worked his way lower.

Nuzzling his way through her damp curls, Taelsin slid her pants right off and hooked her legs over his shoulders.“Now relax, little one, and I’m going to show you some fireworks,” he grinned before diving between her legs to taste her.

Win’s eyes widened to their fullest extent, her body went rigid, and for a time, she stopped breathing. Then the air surged out of her in a wail of pleasure, and she arched up into his touch. He was... his tongue was... “Sin!” she screamed.

Taelsin chuckled as he came up for air, grinning at the look of shocked rapture on Win’s face.“Like that, hunh?” he teased, before returning to the pleasurable task of bringing Winell to orgasm.

The young woodcrafter whimpered, her head tossing against the grass, white blond hair a stark contrast to the vivid green, as a familiar tension built inside her, then exploded, making her scream again as she went rigid in Taelsin’s grasp, trying to press closer.

Tael fluttered his tongue back and forth across Winell’s clitoris lightly, then licked her clean, surging up to kiss Win passionately, sharing her essence with her.“Delicious,” he purred, “absolutely delicious.Like that, minx?”

Win blinked up at him dazedly. “Uhh, wha... Oh my! That was...” She pulled him into another kiss, whimpering softly when he settled between her legs, pressing against still quivering flesh.

“And that was just the warm up, little one,” the bodyguard replied, his hand slipping between them to unbutton his wherhide pants and shove them over his hips.“But next time we do this in a bed, and we take our time.”

“This seems fine to me,” Win gasped, arms and legs winding around the armscrafter and holding him tightly. “Don’t stop, please, want you so bad, want you to be the one,” she moaned, clinging to him feverishly.

Tael laughed softly, touched by her eagerness.“That’s because you’ve got nothing to compare it to.You’ll have to come to Aethyr and experience how the other half does it,” he teased, holding her close.

Taking her hand, he brought it down to his groin, wrapping it around his cock.“Feel this, minx, this is what you want.Touch it, play with it,” he purred hypnotically.

Win pushed on his shoulder, rolling him to his back with his cooperation, and leaned up onto an elbow so she could see better. “So beautiful,” she whispered, “hard and soft at the same time.” She stroked him a little tentatively at first, then harder as he sighed his pleasure. She leaned a little closer, looking at him, and she caught a whiff of his musky scent.

Unable to resist and thinking of what he’d just done to her, she leaned a bit farther until her tongue could flick lightly at the tip of the shaft she held. “Oh! You taste...” Unable to find words to describe the flavor, she licked him again, tasting him properly.

“And a fast learner too, sweet little minx,” the armscrafter sighed, carding his fingers through her hair.“Just like that, darlin, oh yeah, mmm, now stroke it too, such a soft touch, such a naughty young woman,” Taelsin moaned, his eyes growing heavy as he watched her lush pink tongue dart out and taste and flick over the flared head of his cock.

Ice blue eyes darted up to gauge Taelsin’s reaction, and Winell grinned as she followed his directions. Remembering something she’d overheard her brother Jor talking about one time, she moved a hand between Tael’s legs and pressed lightly against his anus. Finding it difficult, she quickly pressed a finger into herself, then easily slid the now slick digit into him.

“JAYS!” Tael’s head shot back, and his fingers tightened and clenched in her hair, his whole body shaking with sudden need.“Baby, oh shells, keep it up and I’m going to come!”

Win giggled softly, removing her finger. “I’m no master, but I think you’re supposed to do that inside me.” She was a little smug at making this gorgeous man lose control.

“Little minx,” Tael growled sexily, leaning in to nip at the base of the young woman’s throat, laving it hard enough to bring blood to the surface in a satisfactory love mark.“When you come to the hold and I have you in my rooms, I’ll show you things and toys you’ve never imagined.Then we’ll see how smug you are.”

“And as much as I would love to come inside you, little one, you’re too young to be a mother just yet, yes?So unless you take regular trips _between_ , I’m afraid I won’t be able to come inside you just yet.”

She blinked at him, taking a moment to process the words. “Oh. Oh! No, half my brothers are dragonriders; it’s not a problem. Why do you think Kallie doesn’t have any kids?” She blushed to be discussing this so frankly with him, but she was glad he’d thought of her, and that showed in the smile she gave him.

Wanting to stop talking about this rather embarrassing subject, she lowered her hand to his shaft again, stroking him eagerly. Concentrating on the delicious sensations, she caught her lower lip between her teeth, and her eyes closed partway, an expression of sensual enjoyment on her face.

Taelsin chuckled softly at the combination of embarrassment and young lust on the young woman’s face.Such a mix of innocence and carnality in one tiny little bundle.If he weren’t careful, he could come to adore this little minx of a woman-child.

Spreading Winell’s legs a little wider and coaxing them to wrap around his hips, Tael’s hand closed over Win’s and guided his shaft to the entrance to her body.“Be sure, little one, there’s no going back from this; once I take your virginity, you can never reclaim it for a husband,” he murmured seriously, needing Win to understand just what she was giving him and needing to know she truly wanted this, just to be sure.

Growling in frustration, Win unexpectedly tightened her legs around him, forcing him into her. Her eyes widened, and she gasped and stiffened at the brief, tearing pain. She’d been well prepared, however, so it was not long before the pain was only a memory and the fullness inside her made her want more.

“I take it that you’re sure,” Tael managed to get out on a gasped chuckle, surprised by his minx’s vehemence.Taking care and gauging her reactions carefully, Tael began to sink deeper and deeper into Win’s wet heat, stopping when a look of discomfort crossed her face, continuing when she squirmed for more, until he was buried inside her completely.“So tight and perfect, Winell.Like you were made for me,” he whispered, nuzzling her cheek as he waited for her to adjust to being this full of him.

Winell stared up at him, almost dazed by the pleasure she was feeling. “I didn’t know,” she whispered, then turned her head to meet his lips with her own, whimpering softly when his tongue plunged inside. Her hips rose slightly, then fell again, and the explosion of sensation made her gasp into his mouth. She repeated the motion, wanting to feel that again, and whimpered her frustration when she couldn’t move as much as she wanted to.

Taking her tiny mewls of frustrated need as permission to move, Taelsin withdrew almost to the point of leaving her and slowly thrust back inside.Over and over he repeated the motion, his body strained and sweating as he tried to hold back for her, make her first time gentle and easy.

But, shards, it was hard, when all he wanted to do was slam into her tight, wet depths over and over, taking her hard and fast as his lust demanded. _Soon,_ he contented himself, she’d be ready for that soon, but she needed to be broken in slowly, gentled and made to enjoy it so much that she craved more, craved _him_ more.

It felt so good when Taelsin moved, but these soft, gentle motions were driving her insane! She wanted more, wanted to feel him take her, and she wailed her frustration, short nails clawing at his back. “Not enough, more, please,” she pleaded, fighting to move against him.

“So hungry already?” he teased, nibbling on her collarbone before claiming her mouth as he increased his pace, his hips snapping back and forth, faster than before.

“You’re gonna be saddle sore in the morning and walking around like an old lady if I take you the way you want me to, Winell.Besides, you need to save something for next time, yes?” he purred, licking at her lips.

Win had opened her mouth to argue when the words “next time” really registered, and she was left staring at him hopefully. “N-next time?” she repeated uncertainly before she rallied. “Are you going to spank me then too?” she asked with a pout, her hips never faltering as she matched Taelsin’s rhythm.

“That depends on whether or not you’re going to act like a spoiled little heiress then too,” Taelsin rejoined before slipping a hand between their bodies to add a gentle massage to her clitoris, wanting to see her come apart in his arms.

Once again her reply was circumvented, this time by a burst of pleasure that made her previous climax pale by comparison. She screamed her surprised ecstasy, hands clenching on his arms as her entire body seemed to explode, clinging to him as her anchor.

Feeling her tight, still virginal muscles contract around him as she orgasmed had Taelsin groaning and coming as well, unable to control himself.“Jays, so good,” he moaned, burying his face in her neck and suckling on a patch of flesh to prevent his own shout from emerging.

It was a few minutes before Winell was capable of anything beyond clutching him and panting. “Oh my,” she finally gasped out. “If I’d known it was like that...” She stopped abruptly, thinking better of what she’d been about to say.

Taelsin growled softly, nipping a little harder at her throat.“I don’t expect you to be faithful to me, little minx, but I do expect you not to share your tales with me when we do this again, agreed?’ he rumbled, feeling more than a little possessive but not sure if he had the right to be.

Win frowned. The corollary was that the armscrafter would be flying others as well. She didn’t like that. No, she didn’t like that at all. “No, not agreed,” she snapped, squirming to be free. “It sounds like this was a big mistake.”

“Hey! Settle down, will you?” Taelsin snapped, letting his full weight rest on the squirming little brat.“What’s gotten into you?Here I’m trying to not act like some possessive idiot just because I’ve flown you first, even though I wanna snap the neck of any man who dares to sniff around you now, and you’re already regretting me doing so.Jays!”

Hefting himself up and off of her, Tael reached for his shirt and pants.“I knew it,” he muttered.“I knew I should have kept it in my pants and let her go after that bluerider, but no, I wanted her, and now she regrets me having her, and I feel like a fucking rapist, and jays, what a mess!”

Win stared at him, knowing she’d messed up and it was up to her to fix it. “I... That’s not what I meant,” she whispered in a tiny voice. “I don’t want anyone else. I’m not asking for a commitment,” she added hastily, sitting up and wrapping her arms protectively around her drawn up knees, hiding her nakedness. “Just... I... I didn’t like thinking of you with someone else,” she admitted. “I can’t do that.” She was fighting to hold back tears. It had been so perfect, and then she’d spoiled it. She turned her head away, not wanting him to see the tears rolling down her face.

“Oh, baby,” Tael turned around and had Winell in his arms in a heartbeat, crooning and cuddling her.“I never said I was going to be with anyone else.I just didn’t want to get in _your_ way.You’re young, you’re gonna want to explore and have other partners and see what you like and who you like and want to experiment.You don’t need me hanging around and growling and acting like, well, like a husband, now do you?” the older man tried to explain.

“I’m not a slut!” She glared up at him even as she nestled against him. “I’m not going to sleep with more than one person at a time. If I decide I want someone else, I’d tell you first, not sneak around!” She was insulted that he’d think that of her.

“I never said you _were_ ,” he retorted, wondering where this had gotten out of hand.“Shells, Win, how could I _not_ expect you to want to explore? You’re young and vibrant and deliciously sexual.It’s not like I own you, or have any rights to your time beyond what you want to give me.I live at Aethyr, you live at the Woodhall, and I’m old enough to be your sharding father!”

Furious, Win wrenched free of his arms and stood up to go over to her clothes and begin dressing. “If you throw your age at me one more time, I’m going to _scream_ ,” she ground out through gritted teeth. “You are not my father. You are not old enough to be my father. You were talking to my father this morning; are you going to tell me you think you’re as old as he is?” she practically yelled at him.

“I am twenty-nine Turns old, little girl!” he shot back, incensed.

“I have brothers older than you are,” she snapped, exaggerating slightly. “If you don’t want me, just say so.”

“Did I say I didn’t want you?” Taelsin roared, frustrated and furious and totally baffled at how one little slip of a girl could have him so tied up in knots.“Correct me if I’m wrong, Apprentice Winell, but wasn’t that me buried between your legs, slamming into you and filling you with my seed?So unless I’m sadly mistaken, I must have wanted you!Women!!!” he growled, throwing his hands up.“This is why I avoid them when I can; shards, they drive me crazy!!!”

She sniffed, insulted. “You’re also the one who was still inside me and telling me to be fucked by other men,” she replied angrily. “That doesn’t exactly make a girl feel wanted!”

“I give up, I really do!” Tael groaned, burying his face in his hands.“Irrational, illogical, and just plain crazy, they all are.”

Win glared, really wishing she could kick him. Instead, she stormed off, heading back toward the woodhall on foot.

“Awh shells, she’s gonna make me go after her then sulk all the way to the woodhall and then act like a royal pain in the ass, and I am _so_ screwed,” Taelsin bemoaned as he quickly finished dressing then got astride Faris and went after the little brat.

Deciding enough was enough, he didn’t even bother to ask, he just swept her up as he passed her and placed her on the saddle in front of him, sighing heavily.“I’m sorry, okay?”

Win stared straight ahead, holding herself away from him as much as possible. “Fine, apology accepted,” she replied icily, desperately wanting to be home so she could break down and cry. She didn’t understand how everything had gone so wrong. She brushed away a tear, trying to pretend it wasn’t there.

“Awh, shells, don’t cry, please?” Tael crumbled.He never could stand to see a woman cry.“I really am sorry, Win, and I do like you, but shells if I know what you want from me!You make me crazy,” he admitted reluctantly.“And I’ve known you for what, all of a few candlemarks?”

She sniffled, relenting enough to slump against him. “I want you to stop treating me like a child and act like I’m the woman you just flew,” she choked out.

“I tried to treat you like that, and then you told me you didn’t like the way I acted, saying I called you a slut and such, remember?I was trying to be mature about this thing we have, Winell, but when I do, you get angry at me.I can’t seem to do anything right with you,” Taelsin replied softly.

“You keep pushing me away,” she almost wailed. “Or are you trying to tell me that you tell every woman you bed that it’s okay to sleep with other men?” she added challengingly. “If I were older, you’d never have said that!”

“Shardit all, Winell,” Taelsin ground out.“You’re my first virgin!I don’t know how the shells I’m supposed to act, okay?”

“Stop thinking of me as a virgin,” she replied instantly. “As you well know, I’m not one anymore. I’m just me. You don’t have to act any special way. I kinda liked the person I met before you starting putting on acts.”

“My head hurts,” Taelsin whimpered, exhausted, his head spinning from Win’s illogic, and more than ready to declare celibacy.“I’m too old for this sort of emotional trauma.I treat you like I treat anyone else, and you just... I want my mommy!”

Win couldn’t help it; she burst into laughter. When she could speak again, she said, “I have an idea. Why don’t we pretend that none of this ever happened... uh, the argument part, I mean,” she added quickly, with a blush, “and try again? I really do want to see you again.”

“Gee, so nice to know my pain and confusion amuses you,” the bodyguard groused, his ego bruised at being so completely defeated by this tiny slip of a woman.He was dead meat.“But okay, just after my head stops pounding, okay?”

Win just shook her head. “I don’t understand you, I really don’t. I always thought that when I did this, I’d have to push _him_ away, not the other way around.” Seeing the expression on Taelsin’s face, she hastily added, “Never mind. I don’t think we’re ever going to understand each other. Now I understand what Mom meant.”

“And I understand what my father meant when he said that women are the most contrary, confusing, sanity-challenging contradictions in the universe,” Taelsin replied under his breath.

Win jabbed him with her elbow. “I heard that. I think you need to kiss me to make up for it,” she suggested tentatively.

“Owww, hey!There’s gotta be a rule against bruising the lord holder’s bodyguard or something,” the armscrafter groaned, rubbing his ribs painfully. “You keep injuring me like this and I’m going to be useless to Lord Lucivon and Steward Daemon and the lord’s family, not to mention you should you ever choose to use me again after I was such a horrid cad to you.”

Win twisted in his arms so she could look up at him, blushing slightly. “I’m sorry I... overreacted a bit,” she mumbled. “If you’re willing to give me a second chance, I’d like that a lot.” Hesitantly, not sure he wouldn’t push her away, she stretched up so she could kiss him, arms twining around his neck to support herself.

“Well...” Tael trailed off before grinning and reclaiming Win’s mouth in a soft kiss.

Win rapidly turned the kiss into something deeper and wetter, moaning softly as she pressed closer to the armscrafter. “Does that mean you forgive me?” she asked with a smile, pressing tiny kisses to his jawline.

Taelsin chuckled softly.“I guess if I don’t, you’re gonna keep giving me bruises and such, and if you do, then Lord Lucivon would wonder at just how good of a bodyguard I really was, and then he’d let me go because he wouldn’t have any confidence in me, so for the sake of my career I guess I’m gonna have to, aren’t I?”

She pouted at him, trying not to giggle. “So what you’re saying is that you’re only putting up with me for the sake of your career. Nice. You have such a way of making a girl feel special, Corporal-at-arms Taelsin. For that, I want a _real_ kiss.” She squirmed a little in his lap, enjoying the feel of him beneath her.

“Pushy little thing, aren’t you, Winell?” the older man grinned as they rode over the ridge and the Woodhall came into sight.“However, I think I’ll have to postpone your kiss until we’re alone again.After all we wouldn’t want people to get the wrong idea, now would we?”

Win glared and stuck her tongue out. “Embarrassed to be seen kissing me?” she pouted, though she never moved from her position nestled against him, and her tongue was licking at his throat. She finally glanced over at the hall, then buried her face against him with a groan.

“Can we _please_ go to the hold instead?” Not only were Wellin and Kallie waiting for them, which she’d expected, her brothers Jor, Dal, and Dell and her mother were there as well. As usual, the dark-haired twins looked ready to protect her, whether she wanted to be protected or not.

“I’d love to take you back to the hold, sweetheart, but I really have to get back to work, and I stole you from yours.Besides I’m assuming that they’re all relations of yours, and some are looking rather rabid at the moment.Wouldn’t you prefer my pretty hide in one piece so you could use it at a later date instead of me all bruised and battered and broken and confined to bed unable to do _anything_ at all?”

The young woodcrafter sighed. “Yeah, that’s my mom and a few of my brothers and sisters. At least Dad isn’t with them.” She looked up at Taelsin pleadingly. “Will I really see you again?”

“Yes, minx, you will,” Taelsin husked, nuzzling the young woman’s neck.“You’re rather addictive, you know that?”

She smiled and cuddled closer. “I’m glad.” When they drew up in front of her family, Win turned her face up to him, totally ignoring the others for the moment, hoping that he would kiss her goodbye but not willing to ask in case he wouldn’t.

Bussing his lips across her forehead then tilting her head up to catch her lips in a soft kiss, his tongue dipping inside for a moment, Taelsin grinned.“Believe it or not, so am I.Even though you are the darnedest pain in the ass and a headache waiting to happen,” he teased her lightly.

She stuck her tongue out and slid down off the runner, making sure to land between Dal and Dell and her armscrafter. She smiled up at him. “Thank you. I’ll look forward to seeing you again.”

“I’m counting on it, little girl,” Taelsin grinned, bowing to Win’s mother before rounding his equine.“Just do me a favor and not throw any temper tantrums next time.I’d hate to have to warm your posterior again.”

Win snorted. “Like you’d do anything I didn’t want you to.” She smiled, pleased that he’d reiterated that there would be another time for them. She had every intention of catching herself an armscrafter. Standing in front of her scowling brothers, she waved after Taelsin, smiling happily. She couldn’t wait to tell Wel all about it!

Tael chuckled and tossed a salute at her brothers then threw Win a kiss.“Behave yourself, brat, and I’ll see you soon,” the armscrafter replied before wheeling his runner around to head back to the hold, whistling a jaunty tune.Life just got a whole lot more interesting, that was for sure!


End file.
